Why IGOs?

Before proceeding further with some thoughts on the relative capability and suitability of regional or global institutions, it is worth pausing to be clearer about why IGOs come to exist at all. To do so one can usefully begin with the economists' concept of collective goods, or public goods. Collective goods are those goods, or benefits, that no individual person or state can acquire for itself. They are goods which, to be achieved at all or at least to an optimal degree, must be provided by collective action. They must be provided cooperatively, with some provision for minimizing "free-riding" by those who would like to enjoy the benefits without paying for them. Within states, the provision of collective goods is, writ large, the primary purpose of government. Public health can reliably be secured only by regulation or other collective action (as for compulsory vaccination, or the provision of safe water). Environmental protection also often requires collective action and regulation, since the effects of pollution may extend far beyond its source and, in the absence of public policy, polluters may lack sufficient incentive to change their practices. In the absence of regulation, subsidy or effective taxation, the temptation for everyone to try to free-ride is likely to lead to widespread violation of restraints. Public order and defence against attack similarly require collective action, and the assessment and collection of taxes to ensure that everyone pays what is deemed a fair share of the cost.

The problem is not fundamentally different at the international level. Control of infectious disease across borders, regulation of civil aviation safety standards and global control of environmental pollutants, each in its way, are collective goods and furthered the existence of IGOs. Even security against violence is in effect a collective good, particularly in a regime that privileges the independence of many weak but sovereign states. Some means for providing the instruments of collective security, and paying for them, are required. In the absence of an all-powerful hegemon, willing as well as able to provide the collective goods by itself, individual states cannot unaided do the job at a satisfactory level. What, precisely, can IGOs do? They can carry on at least six kinds of action, as can many other types of institutions. A few are limited to just one function, most take on many or even all six. I begin at the coercive end of the spectrum, and end with the "soft" power of shaping identities:

1. Most obviously, they can enforce the community norms, if necessary coercing the norm-breakers. In some circumstances the coercion is overt and violent, as when the Security Council authorizes military action or the application of economic sanctions. Furthermore, the Security Council is empowered to carry out the action, to collect "taxes" (peacekeeping assessments) from Member States, and to require all Member States to observe the regime of economic sanctions it may apply. But any taxation or rule enforcement, when the instruments of state coercion are in the background rather than the foreground, remains a form of coercion.

2. IGOs may mediate between conflicting parties, or otherwise serve as facilitating rather than coercive agents for conflict resolution. Here too, but more rarely, IGOs are used as instruments of arbitration and adjudication, sometimes taking on certain coercive powers of enforcement.

3. IGOs, like all institutions, serve as channels for conveying information about member's actions, needs, preferences and perceptions. No collective action of much import is possible without a substantial institutional network for conveying such information, and reducing uncertainty.

4. Institutions frequently expand their members' views of their material self-interest by making it more inclusive and longer term. For example, institutions devoted to increasing economic interdependence make one state's economic prosperity largely dependent on that of the other states which serve as its markets or its sources of important goods and services. My self-interest depends on serving yours also, and in the long term not just the short.

5. IGOs help shape norms which influence the behaviour of states and individuals. Among these norms, that of sovereignty is most obvious, given the organizing principle of state membership in IGOs. The UN has greatly enhanced the norm of sovereignty by granting membership to states deemed to be in control of their territory regardless of how small or weak that state may be. The norm of the right of a state to be recognized as a sovereign entity was promoted powerfully during the era of the demise of colonialism, and the UN was a major actor in that process. More recently, the right of a sovereign state to continue in existence formed the basis for much rationale supporting the resistance to Iraq's attempted seizure of Kuwait. Recently, the Bretton Woods institutions have widely promoted norms of free markets in states making the transition from controlled economies. The idea that there are basic international human rights, across cultures and borders, is largely accepted in general, despite frequent claims of exceptions in application. Despite these claims for exceptions, principles of democracy, of women's rights and a right not to be tortured have, among many others, been effectively promoted by UN conferences and human rights agencies.5 At some time in their history, the great majority of states practised torture rather routinely. Although many states continue to inflict torture on their citizens, its legitimacy is lost and governments may ultimately he held criminally responsible.

6. Finally, IGOs can generate the narratives of mutual identification across states and cultures. Principles of a global interest and global citizenship are part of the UN's message, presented powerfully in visual images as well as words. Regional organizations do some of the same, as with the EU's promotion of European citizenship and the creation of a European passport. Overall, global organizations as well as regional ones may be judged to have a decent record in many of these others, though not nearly as good as many of us might hope.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1290